U.S. home prices increased at a slower pace in June — a cooldown that could continue for several more months.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 8.1 percent in June from 12 months earlier, according to a Tuesday report. That’s down from 9.4 percent a month earlier and the smallest annual gain since December 2012.

Yearly price growth weakened in all 20 cities. Home values in Cleveland nudged up just 0.8 percent. Las Vegas led with a 15.2 percent gain. But prices in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami and Tampa, Florida, are still at least 33 percent below their housing bubble peaks of almost a decade ago.

The index studies no New Mexico cities, but the latest home price survey from CoreLogic

has shown that the Albuquerque metro area and New Mexico in general continue to bring up the rear in a national trend of rising home prices.

Albuquerque saw its average home price increase 1.3 percent year over year as of June, but nudge down by 0.7 percent from the preceding May.

The small year-over-year increase placed the metro among the 98 largest metros to see prices rise. Only Worcester, Mass., and Little Rock, Ark., experienced a fall in prices.

The average price statewide rose 1.1 percent, placing New Mexico next to last among states for home-price appreciation. Last-place Arkansas saw its average price drop by a minuscule 0.4 percent.

Price growth should continue to slow now that the recovery from the Great Recession has entered its sixth year. Many economists project that the Federal Reserve will begin to raise short-term interest rates in 2015 because the economy has strengthened, which could cause mortgage rates to rise from relative lows and make it more expensive to borrow.

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